The Peverell Triplets & the Sorcerer's Stone

A/N: Here is the third chapter for the story. I hope it makes up for the long wait. I hope you enjoy the story.

Chapter 3:

The triplets entered Prof. Flitwick's office half an hour before breakfast the next morning, not surprised to see Prof. Athanasius there as well. "Morning professors." the boys said grimly, knowing the reason for the meeting. They now knew where the entrance to the gauntlet was. The test had officially begun.

"The third-floor corridor isn't too far off from the main paths of the school that students take to get to classes. But it is far enough off the normal routes that we can't actually accuse Albus of anything though." Death said.

"That's good, at least. If we're in luck, there won't be many students going along the third floor. The only classes on this floor are mine, runes, and muggle-studies." Filius added. "And because of that, I can get near the entrance and put up the notice-me-not spells to keep the students away after finding out what other spells are there." he added.

"That would be easier, and I can lend you the cloak." Ignotus added. After all, it was Filius that taught them to hide their magical signatures, even when casting spells.

"I'll take you up on that offer and I'll do it after all the students head down to breakfast. At the very least, we can keep students from going near the gauntlet entrance for a couple months or so, since I expect that Albus won't be paying much attention to it for the moment. He'll be more focused on Matthew, you three, and Damien here." Filius agreed. Ignotus pulled his cloak out of his bag and handed it over to Filius.

"I might be limited in my abilities in this form, but I'll go with to make sure no one approaches you just to be safe." Damien added to the half-goblin. Filius nodded his consent.

"We'll spend the next couple months keeping note of who is closest to Matthew and paying extra close attention to our first-year classes." Cadmus added.

"Now that our plan for this ridiculous test is settled, we need to go over your set of rules." Damien said as he looked at the triplets.

"I'm sorry?" Antioch said in confusion- and slightly insulted. He may be in a child's body once more, but he had been a powerful wizard feared by many just over a decade ago.

"You three are technically my wards during your stay in Hogwarts. Don't worry, it's nothing that truly limits your freedoms." Filius said in amusement at the sour look on the two eldest boys' faces. "You three are still taking nutrient potions, are you not?"

"We should be done with them come winter break." Cadmus admitted.

"I thought so. I'd like you three to have monthly checkups until then, and one last check up in January. I have my own potions lab for making the tincture you three are going to need this year. I'll give you access to that lab, Cadmus, since I know you'll trust no one but yourself with those nutrient potions." Filius said with understanding. Cadmus nodded in relief. "Also, I know you three are fiercely intelligent, and I expect you to get nothing but EE's and Os in your classes. If any of the teachers are unfair to you or give you trouble, I want you to come to me or Prof. Athanasius here. After all, you three are students now, not teachers like Cadmus once were. And if any students like Matthew and his groupies try to make your life difficult, well- I just ask you do no permanent damage and don't get caught if you don't come to me or Damien." the triplets nodded, as though they already expected that to happen.

"As for a few other things. We'll have bi-weekly meetings to discuss how you're doing in school and things like that. We can also use these meetings to discuss progress with everything involving Albus's plans. But if you do discover something, come to me or Damien immediately. Your cores are still growing, so there's a lot you three still can't do, even if you're more powerful than most of your fellow first and second years. Understand?" Filius asked.

"Yes sir." they agreed, understanding the gravity of their situations. Filius nodded.

"Then it's settled. You three head back to the common room. I'll pass out your schedules and the appointment time for your check up at breakfast." Filius told them.

"Yes sir! See you soon." with that the triplets made their way back to the common room and waited for their fellow house mates to arrive, Ignotus grabbing a couple of books from the first level bookcases to begin on Antioch's new mission for him. Unsurprisingly, both of them also claimed a couple books for themselves. After all, they hadn't been Ravenclaws when they first went to Hogwarts. It was a few minutes later that the rest of the first years arrived and Penelope gathered them and lead them to the Great Hall for breakfast. Their first year at Hogwarts had officially begun.

-TPT& TSS-

Their first class that year was transfiguration with Hufflepuff. Neville immediately joined Ignotus at his desk, next to Anti and Cad's own desk. Their group had no problems grasping the theory behind what Prof. McGonagall was explaining, and when it came to the practical of turning a match into a needle, the Peverell triplets got it perfectly on their first try, much to McGonagall happiness. The brothers got 20 points each and an O for their first class. With a little help from Ignotus, Neville was the next to get it earning 10 points and an O as well. By the end of class that day, most of the students had turned their matches into perfect needles. McGonagall had been thrilled. Though, when they talked with Draco at lunch that day, they learned the Slytherin/Gryffindor class didn't do as well. Most of the Slytherins had gotten it by the time class was over, but Matthew Potter was one of the few Gryffindors who had completed the assignment. Even then, that wasn't until halfway through the class. Draco swore McGonagall had been slightly disappointed when he was leaving class that day.

Charms had been their first class with the Gryffindor house, and in turn, Matthew Potter. Charms was a fun class that Ignotus and his brothers enjoyed greatly as did the rest of the Ravenclaws as Prof. Flitwick's own overflowing, bubbly energy easily affected and rubbed off on his students as the class progressed. There first class was the Lumos charm and Nox. "What are some useful ways to apply the Lumos charm?" Filius had asked, before they began their practical. "Yes Ms. Granger?" he had asked the Gryffindor girl.

"To make your way through dark corridors." she answered.

"Very good. Any others? Mr. Potter."

"To find your way when lost in a forest."

"Good, though similar to Ms. Granger's own example. Mr. Peverell." He had said, too late to correct himself as all three brothers' hands had been in the air.

"Reading under the covers after lights out." the trio deadpanned, causing several first year Gryffindors to burst out into laughter, though their fellow ravens had nodded sagely at such an application.

"Yes indeed. That is how I found myself using it during my schooling I must admit." Filius chuckled. "Though it can also be used in a duel to temporarily blind an opponent to give you an advantage. On the other hand, Lumos is not just a light spell, but a spell of revelation. One of the things Lumos can reveal are hidden compartments- unless otherwise protected from it. A Lumos spell can also reveal hidden or camouflaged persons, items, or doors. However, only if it is tied to a set of other charms. Such tying of charms is called a Charm Array. But we will dive into those more in later years, as they involve a great deal of power, finesse, and imagination." the half-goblin explained. With a wave of his wand, all of the candles in the room snuffed out and the windows blocked out the light from outside. "We will now begin the practical application of Lumos." he told them. And so, the students started intoning Lumos, with the triplets, Matthew, and Granger being the only ones to get it on their first try. "Well done. 15 points for each of you. You may now begin to work on Nox, the extinguishing charm." he told them. It wasn't even a full class later that the students had all managed to cast Lumos and Nox both. Filius was quite proud as he sent them on their way to their next classes.

Potions was...interesting...Ignotus decided. Horace Slughorn was a very jovial and cheerful man. He taught the entire class the important spells necessary to keep the fire lit, adjust the temperature, and filter the fumes of the potions to a place where they could safely dissipate. After that, he went into a full explanation of the boil cure, how it was made, and it's uses. Afterwards, he instilled in them the importance of following the directions and to always double check the recipe they were using before they finally began to brew the first-year potion. The class went by smoothly, Antioch and Ignotus working together and keeping an eye on Cadmus and Draco in front of them. The group would rotate with each other, so they all had each other for a partner in potions. It was a quiet class. When Neville joined them for a break between classes, he explained that the Gryffindor/Hufflepuff class did not go well. Matthew Potter had joined Ronald Weasley as a partner and they had exploded their potion when Ron had put in the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire, causing the Ravenclaws and Slytherin to wince, knowing that result. Then, Ronald had the gall to try and blame Neville who was behind them for sabotaging their potion. Fortunately, Nev's loyal housemates stood up for Neville and Horace had ultimately taken the side of the Hufflepuff students. It helped that some of the Gryffindors also sided with them. They had to do a short essay on following instructions and Ron had to do an extra one on why it was wrong for him to blame others for his mistakes.

Herbology was with the Slytherins as well, and Draco merely joined the brothers as they could work four to a station in Herbology. Neville's head of house soon proved to be a great teacher when it came to the plants they were working with, and also rather protective of them as well. And while a baby tentacle plant was a bit grabby with some of the students, the class went by smoothly.

It was Tuesday that they had their first History of Magic class, their final class of the day and the only class besides Astronomy that had all the first years from all the houses in the same class. If Ignotus and his brothers didn't know who Prof. Athanasius really was, they would've felt sorry for the bloke. The good news being that the older students who all remembered Binns had only said good things about the new History Professor. Prof. Athanasius greeted his 30 students with a grin, the board behind him holding the names of the four founders of Hogwarts. After a quick roll call, he began his class. "Good afternoon students, I am Professor Damien Athanasius. You can call me Prof. Damien if it's easier for some of you. I know that this curriculum is far behind standard, so I'm going to fix that where I can. For our first year, we'll be concentrating on Hogwarts and her Founders. This year will also lead to other prominent figures who have graduated from this school and did great things to help the world of magic. And ones that did horrible things as well. I will not sugar coat the truth. In addition, you will learn of some history from the muggle world, as few wizards realize just how many times muggle and wizard history has been connected."

"What affect could muggles have on our history?" a Slytherin asked, some disgust in her voice.

"More than you know Ms. Parkinson." Prof. Athanasius said. "The statue of secrecy was initiated due to muggles. The war with Gellert Grindelwald is heavily tied with the muggles' WW2. Some of the legends surrounding Hogwarts and her founders also involve muggles. Some of our laws- some disgusting and some wonderful- were also influenced by muggles. There is more than you know, but quite a bit of that won't be discussed until your third year and on." he assured them. "One other thing, prejudices will not be tolerated in this classroom- whether it's blood status or house. I do not care about the connections your families have. I do not care about what ever title you hold- Heir, Heir Apparent, or even BWL. You are merely students in this class, and you are all equal here. You would do well to remember that. You will also find yourself in groups though out the year with members from every house and with every blood status. You will also see some guest speakers in this class, but again, that is much later. Now if you will all open you books to chapter 1, we're going to discuss who the founders are and what their ideals were." he informed them.

The students were quiet as they did so, and soon, class went underway. They learned about the four founders. "Godric was a ward master and magical beast tamer with an affinity for fire who often was in charge of protections. Though his beasts often helped them to keep updated on matters around the world during times of war. Salazar was a healer and potions master with a link to water, who saved thousands of lives both magical and muggle when more than one pandemic had hit during his lifetime. Helga was an earth Viking and an herbology mistress, a fierce warrior on the battlefield who also summoned plants to help her in her battles. And Rowena was a rune and ritual mistress who was closely connected to air, able to use the runes and rituals for offense and defense in times of trouble. Thus, balancing each other out. Yes, Ms. Granger?"

"None of the books I've read have said anything about the founders being any of those. Except the more obvious ones of Helga with her love for herbology and Salazar potions. And nothing was mentioned about Rowena being a dark witch or Godric a master of wards. Much less that Helga was anything but a petite, delicate woman." She said skeptically, as if not reading it in a book immediately made it false.

"I know this is true, because I have seen their personal journals." It was not a total lie. He had visited them many times, during the muggle magical war they had been a part of. And he had spoken with them when their times had arrived and he walked them to the other side. "No one in my family may have attended Hogwarts, but my ancestors and the founders were very close and my family was tasked with caring for the journals, only to be given to their descendants in time and to always take them back once they learned all they could from them." Granger still didn't seem to believe it but left it alone. "As for Rowena being a dark witch, she wasn't."

"But rituals are illegal and considered dark by the ministry." One of the Hufflepuffs said in confusion.

"The only rituals that are illegal are ones pertaining to necromancy, soul magic, and generational curses. As for the rituals they try to insist are illegal are rituals that mostly- if not only- affect wizards and witches with dark cores, and dark creatures. But each of these rituals have a counterpart that mostly- if not only- affect wizards and witches with light cores and light creatures. It's just that no one has ever tried finding them. And in turn, envious or angry wizards and witches tried to insist they are illegal and evil, when they are merely tuned to those with dark magic." Athanasius explained, causing many students to rethink everything they had ever known about rituals. "We will discuss more of these rituals at a later date. Maybe your fourth or fifth year as they do take a lot of understanding to complete." they merely nodded.

They learned also of the reason for building Hogwarts. "During the time Hogwarts was founded, there were witch hunts happening around the world. Wizard, witches, and magical creatures being hunted by muggles who were afraid of their magic. And muggle-borns- extremely rare at the time- were not spared either. After all four had lost loved ones to these hunts, they decided to build a safe haven where magical beings could be safe and learn to protect themselves. Thus, throughout the next five decades, Hogwarts was built while they also traveled the lands to find others to give them a safe haven. And soon, despite the hunts and fears, they were able to bring some solace to their people. To help them and teach them to protect themselves. It was some years later that other countries did the same, to protect their own, taking a weight and burden off our founders."

They also discussed the relationships they had with each other, and what they desired in the students they taught. "The four founders had a deep and profound bond. Much like the bonds between siblings or twins. The four of them balanced each other out and supported each other in everything they did. They had disagreements, of course, but what siblings don't?" he asked his students honestly. "As for the desired traits of students they preferred to teach, the hat explained it pretty well in his song the other night during your sorting. Godric prized students who were brave and willing to protect others, no matter the dangers. Rowena preferred students who were willing to learn and harbor knowledge of all kinds to be shared with future generations. Salazar preferred those of cunning with an ambition to do great things and live to make the world a better and safer place for others. And Helga valued hard work and loyalty among her students, who would fight for what's right but always deign for peace first. They all valued different things but their desired goal was the same. A better world and safer life for their people."

Class ended with them having to write a four foot essay about their thoughts on their house and the other houses, including reasons for it, based off the things they had learned about the founders and why and how they did the things they had done. It was a final warning about their prejudices that followed the excitedly chattering students out of the history classroom that day.

It was their last class during the day on Wednesday, Defense Against the Dark Arts with Gryffindors, that they realized just how bad things were at Hogwarts already. Upon entering the DADA classroom, the three brothers tensed up. It was that same foreboding feeling of danger from the bank. Antioch, full of unease, dragged his brothers to the back most desk, thankful it was three to one in this class. They were given strange glances by a few students, including a glare from Matthew and Ronald, but paid it no mind. Not when they could feel something much worse in the air. And when Prof. Quirinus Quirrell entered the room from his office at the front of the room, they felt it. Acrid smoke, barely brushing against the mental barriers but doing nothing to get past them or peer past the surface images put up as a defense. The brothers barely listened to Quirrell stammering his way through his first lesson, too wound up and tense to do so. It took a great deal of self control to stay seated and not escape from the one who was the shade's current vessel. They kept an eye on the man who seemed to be paying attention to Matthew and themselves far too closely, though for certainly different reasons, they hoped. Surely the shade couldn't know who they really were, right?

The moment the tortuous class was over, the trio left, feeling drained and sick as they put the DADA classroom behind them and made their way to Prof. Flitwick's office one floor down. They barely made it before they collapsed onto the small couch in his office, curled in on themselves and each other as their heads pounded painfully. It was awful. How were they going to take the shade down if being in his presence for a single class could nearly cripple them? It posed them a new challenge to work around it seemed. They weren't awake for more than a minute, unable to fight any longer than they had against an encroaching darkness.

Unconscious and curled in on each other, pale and trembling. That was how Filius and Damien found the three boys less than ten minutes after their final classes of the day. Filius let out a colorful curse in his people's language before he darted for his personal potions lab, thankful to have finished the tincture. He hadn't expected it to be needed so soon. Not barely three days into their first term. While Filius went to fetch the tincture, Damien warded the office securely before going to his masters' sides. He gently maneuvered them into more separate positions, trying to ignore the pained groans that accompanied the action. "It'll be okay soon." he murmured, gently waking them and helping them sit up. Before anything else could be said, Filius was back with three vials. Together, they helped the triplets down the tincture. It took several moments longer than it did in the bank for the effects to take place.

"How are you feeling?" Filius asked worriedly.

"Merlin that was awful." the trio rasped.

"Why was it so much worse than at the bank?" Ignotus groaned.

"Because then, we were barely in his presence, it was more like he had just been passing by. We just spent an entire hour in his presence and were unable to leave without drawing suspicion on ourselves." Antioch replied. Ignotus nodded in understanding and let out a relieved sigh when he finally felt better.

"Quirinus is possessed by the shade?" Filius asked troubled. The trio nodded. "I knew something was off about him when he returned from Albania. I just wasn't expecting this." Filius gave a soft snarl at the proximity the shade now had to the boys. " What happened in his class?" The triplets explained everything from when they entered the classroom to their leaving.

"So he has an eye on you three and Matthew. That isn't ideal. But I believe he has his eyes on you for the same reason as Albus...your names, and thus your Hallows." Damien told them. "So I believe he doesn't know that Matthew isn't the BWL quite yet." the triplets nodded in understanding.

"Makes better sense than knowing who we are, especially since Iggy's no longer a horcrux and Anti isn't Voldemort." Cadmus agreed, feeling a bit of relief. "And so long as we stay under the radar and don't show any knowledge of the Hallows, he might very well ignore us and hopefully he won't see us coming." he added. The others nodded.

"For now, I suggest you take a vial of tincture before any of your classes with Quirinus. And if out of classes, he approaches you, you can always use either of us as an excuse to get away from him. And we will both have the tincture on us, so who ever is closest to you. And try your hardest to not be alone with him in any way." Filius told the boys who were more than happy to agree to that suggestion. None of them wanted to be alone with the man or have the others alone with him. Filius had them get some rest before they went to dinner which the brothers were more than happy to do.

-TPT&TSS-

The rest of the week passed semi-peacefully. The DADA classes were more bearable after taking the tincture before classes, even if Double DADA left them a little off. It didn't cripple them, at the very least and that was all that mattered in that regard. It had become clear to the teachers that while Matthew was doing well in his classes, he was not the best in his year. That honor laid with the Peverell triplets, followed by Draco and Neville. Matthew's behavior in History needed some work because he would spout his prejudices against the Slytherin first years and the Peverells. Though the Peverells merely ignored him, which seemed to anger him more than it should. The triplets had even started to visit Hagrid near the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Draco and Neville sometimes joining them. Ignotus and Hagrid would often talk about different creatures. It was almost like a Care of Magical Creatures class since Kettleburn, the CoMC professor, tended to be there. Ignotus was certain he would take CoMC come his third year. His brothers were even interested in the conversations as they discussed how magical creatures could be used in potions, how to care for them, and sometimes they even talked about the laws revolving around magical beings, and their fairness and unfairness. Hagrid and Kettleburn both became friends to the group of children.

They also discovered, during the next couple weeks that Matthew was definitely a bully like his father had been in school. His main target was Slytherins and Hufflepuffs. Though he often tried to get Ignotus caught in his attacks- because they were not all harmless enough to be pranks- finding him less of a threat than his brothers and confident in not having it traced back to him. Instead, he attempted to have his attacks pinned on the Weasley Twins. Matthew wasn't prepared to have the twins retaliate so severely back though. The twins didn't target one house or person- usually- and their pranks were pranks that even their targets were able to laugh at. If they did hurt someone's feelings, they apologized and turned themselves into McGonagall or the head of house of that student. In this case, Matthew found himself the sole target of the twins for trying to get them blamed for his attacks. And it wasn't pretty. It didn't brighten Matthew's day that they never got caught when they did it.

One such incident lead to a first year Hufflepuff, Hannah, to wind up falling down the stairs. If it hadn't been for Neville and Susan, the girl would have broken her arm. In another incident, a Slytherin first year got burned, and had to see Madam Pomfrey to get treated. And with 'evidence' of it being the twins being the one behind them, the twins got detention for each incident. They retaliated and Matthew wound up hung from the rafters in the Entrance Hall with his robes dyed bright pink. In another retaliation, the one where a student did get hurt, Matthew and his group of friends wound up locked in a forgotten broom cupboard for two hours. When they finally escaped, they were late for Transfiguration by over half an hour. And when they tried to explain it, they couldn't find the cupboard again and got two weeks' worth of detention for skipping classes and wasting the teacher's time.

The worst incident was when Ignotus did get caught in one of Matthew's attacks during their second week. Matthew was still getting whispered at about what his family had apparently done to Harry Potter, and it had been building his fury up since the first night. So was the frustration at why the youngest Peverell seemed familiar, but he couldn't place it. It didn't help that the triplets were doing better than him in every class, and his teachers- who had trained him since he was five- were obviously disappointed in his lower ranking in classes. So, his frustrations, anger, and humiliation piled on until it finally boiled over.

It was a Friday and classes were almost over. They had just finished Double DADA, and he had noticed that the uppity triplets weren't doing too well. They had looked a little ill, probably because of all the garlic and incense around Prof. Quirrell's room. It was almost time for History- a class he didn't like because it was his worst grade and he didn't understand why. He hadn't taken the professor's words seriously and was unable to stop himself from putting some mean comments in his essays about evil Slytherins and Hufflepuff being a house of pushovers. He had been making his way with some of his followers to the stairs so they could get to class. "Look. It's the runt all alone." Ron- his more vocal follower- had said. And sure enough, Ignotus Peverell was on his own, a little further down the hall way, obviously making his way for the stairs that were moving at the moment. Matthew didn't question why the youngest brother was on his own, just that seeing him had made the building anger and frustration from the past couple weeks over flow. He and his groupies immediately began to taunt him as they got close, causing him to turn around with his wand out- but so were their own wands. Though he was impressed by how instinctive the boy did so. Which only angered him more, because though he didn't want to admit it, his instincts weren't that fast.

It had not been on purpose, but it wasn't entirely an accident either... The boy had looked unimpressed. And he didn't look fazed by having four bigger kids surrounding him with all their wands drawn. He was unaffected by the name calling and the taunts. It was infuriating that the boy showed absolutely no affect by them. "Are you done? I have better things to do than listen to your unimaginative taunting." the boy said with a sigh, his wand still ready to defend. Ron, the idiot, had shot a knock back jinx at the boy- he wasn't even sure where the red head learned that. But even more impressive, was the boy bringing up a protection shield to defend himself. Then he and the other three threw their own little jinxes, completely forgetting the boy was standing near the stairs. While his shield would have been fine on it's own, three spells hitting it at the same time had caused him to stumble back just enough to push him to the stairs, that had stopped moving and had opened the little gate allowing students on the downwards stairs. And the boy wasn't prepared for that. Neither were they as eyes widened in alarm.

"IGNOTUS!" Voices shouted from near by. To Matthew's horror, both of the boy's older brothers, Draco, and Neville were there, along with a couple other first years that were making their way towards history. What happened next was a blur. The green-eyed boy had fallen several steps, before finally catching himself on the rail, but that had resulted in a nasty popping noise that had caused the boy to choke on his own air. Following that were cries of alarm and fury from their fellow first years as someone ran to get a teacher or prefect. A head boy or girl. Who or what ever was closest to them. The other Peverell boys were down the stairs seconds later, collecting their baby brother. Their friends rushing forward. Then Ron proved to be even more of an idiot.

"Oh don't be a baby. It's just a sprain." Ron called out mockingly. That was when Matthew knew that things were going to turn for the worst, as several of the students snarled at Ron's words. Then, Matthew saw the look in the eyes of Antioch and Cadmus Peverell. It was a look of dark, undiluted fury that scared the boy- and his group- more than anything else.

"You will pay for this." Cadmus's voice promised, only just heard over the out rage of the other students. And even Draco and Neville looked terrified for him despite their own anger. That was when the teachers- Professors Flitwick and Athanasius, of all teachers- arrived on the scene.

Their group got two weeks of detention. 30 points were taken from them apiece; dropping them 120 points and officially putting them back to fourth place. And that made him angry. They had tried to say it was an accident, after all, none of them had noticed that the stairs were open. Yes, they shouldn't have used magic. But that wasn't their fault either- because Ignotus Peverell was an insufferable, infuriating, and frustrating person who only seemed to complicate and ruin his life every chance he got. It was like they couldn't see Matthew's side of things. It's not like the other boy was seriously injured, though the word 'dislocated' had been said. It's not like anything was broken, after all. But they were still put in the wrong. Maybe if Matthew Potter hadn't been raised to believe he could do no wrong, he would have seen just how in the wrong he was. But alas, that wasn't the case.

-TPT&TSS-

Matthew knew he was in trouble. He had hurt the youngest Peverell- despite it being an accident- and he knew the boy's older brothers were out to get him. It was only a matter of time before they did something terrible and awful, he was certain of it. The others had already suffered an array of things- Ron wound up in the infirmary with a rather bad sprain after seemingly tripping over his own two feet in the middle of a crowded hallway. The other two both found themselves breathing fire at each other during breakfast the day before, resulting in them both going to the infirmary for some burns- though they were minor. There had been many other- pranks- happening around the same time, so no one was able to pin it on the two older Peverells. He was the only one left. They were just waiting for him to let his guard down, which he did a week and a half after the incident. That was when Matthew Potter found himself in the middle of the Great Hall for dinner and found himself in just his nickers- pink with golden snitches, that he was certain weren't his- with several students laughing at him. And as he tried to run in his humiliation, he tripped several times and had even gotten a face full of pudding at some point, though he wasn't certain how. He had never been so embarrassed in his life, and he swore he would make the Peverells pay, because there was no one else it could be. He would get back at them, somehow.

-TPT&TSS-

The first flying lesson for all first years was on a bright, sunny morning at the end of September. All during breakfast, their fellow first years were bragging about their experiences on a broom. Ron was excitedly telling those who would listen about the time he barely out flew a muggle helicopter and avoided being seen. Others like Draco were talking about how they loved to fly and that it was a feeling of freedom. And some of the students like Matthew were recounting how they were legendary when playing mini quidditch games with his father, God Father, uncle, and friends growing up. That he would be a seeker like his father had been. The triplets merely ignored it. Cadmus and Antioch appreciated the freedom that came with flying and expected Ignotus would probably enjoy it too. They also thought that he might very well be a natural flier, but they would find out during the lesson. It was one of the things Ignotus had been most excited about.

After everyone had gotten to the pitch, Madam Hooch began her lesson. "Place your right hand over the broom and say 'UP'." she told them. Brooms that immediately jumped to the hand of their riders included the Peverell triplets, Draco, and Matthew though neither triplet nor their Slytherin friend were surprised when the same didn't happen for Neville. After all, the Longbottom Heir really didn't like flying and preferred to stay on the ground. After everyone finally had a broom in hand, Madam Hooch began to teach them how to grasp the broom and sit on it so none of them would slide off. It was amusing when Draco and Ron were both told they had been doing it wrong for years. Draco blushed and stuck his tongue out at Ignotus and Neville who had been chuckling at him. They were all made to fly a few feet in the air and then hover for a few minutes before landing once more. Once everyone had the basics down, she cushioned the ground of the pitch and had the students fly a race of one lap between the houses. Ignotus, Draco, Matthew, and Hannah Abbott were first place in those races and then raced themselves. Ignotus and Matthew tied for first place, Hannah came in second with Draco third a split second behind her. It had been a rather fun class and they would continue the flying lessons every weekend for another three weeks before flying lessons were officially over for the first years.

-TPT&TSS-

It was during the second week of October during dinner time. Ignotus and his brothers had been on their way to have dinner with Filius for their bi-weekly meeting. They had gotten onto the stairs leading up to the third-floor corridor when they had heard a racket coming from the right-hand side. The forbidden corridor. They shared a look before Antioch ordered Nagini to fetch Filius and Damien, who would most likely be with the half goblin, as they rushed to the sounds of shouting. They found the entrance was closed but not locked, they wrenched the door open to find Matthew, Ron, Hermione, and Neville in a starring contest against a giant Cerberus. Their opening the door had caused the dog to react, and Antioch and his brothers had just barely cast three strong shield charms to protect the four first years. Seeing that door was open, Neville darted out to join his friends.

"Get out of there, you imbeciles!" Cadmus snarled, finally pushing the Gryffindor trio into action as they fled the room. Ignotus slammed the door shut just as Filius and Damien joined them, the two teachers casting several powerful locking charms on the door. The students were breathing heavily as silence surrounded them, the only sound being the low growling on the other side of the door.

"What were you doing in there instead of at dinner?" Filius demanded of the four first years, though not harshly.

"I overheard these two planning to follow the Peverell brothers when they reached the third floor, to find out why they weren't at dinner every two weeks and what they were doing. I was following to keep an eye on them because I didn't think a teacher would believe me since there wasn't really anything against the rules about it, but I was worried about the triplets." Neville began, then he indicated Hermione. "She was just unfortunate enough to get caught up in everything when Peeves started pelting us with rocks and we ran. We just followed these two into the first unlocked door that was available to escape Peeves." Neville explained with a sigh as he ran his hand through his hair.

Filius took a deep breath and looked at the triplets who nodded. "While it is none of your business, I am the Peverell's guardian at school." Filius told the two first year Gryffindor boys. "Every two weeks we have dinner and discuss how their schooling is going, though again, it is none of your business. And quite frankly, if you had merely asked a teacher, they could have told you the same thing. You didn't need to skip dinner and prowl about the school like a couple of suspicious rule breakers. Every student is entitled to their privacy so long as it doesn't put themselves and others in danger. You had no right to try and breach that privacy." he intoned without a smile.

"You said the door was unlocked, Mr. Longbottom?" Damien asked, voice tight. The four students nodded.

"It was unlocked when we reached it as well." Antioch told them. The adults sighed.

"Those charms are some of my most powerful and will keep it locked up securely." Filius sighed before looking at the group of pale first years before him.

"Why is that beast in a school full of children?" Ron demanded.

'Because Albus Dumbledore is a child endangering idiot.' five of them thought.

"Only Albus knows that I believe." Damien sighed. "No one will get points taken or detention this time. But none of you will mention this to the other students, and you will not come back here. Me and Filius will discuss this with Albus and the teachers at the teachers' meeting this evening." The students nodded. "And you will stop attempting to get your fellow classmates into trouble because you don't like them. Do I make myself clear?" he told the two Gryffindor boys before him in a firm tone that allowed no argument.

"Yes sir." they intoned, though he truly doubted they would listen to him.

"Good. I will accompany you four to the Great Hall for dinner. And Filius, if you'll take your charges. I think we can postpone our meeting for after dinner." Damien said, though they knew he would be joining them once he was done eating in the Great Hall to keep up appearances.

"Of course, Damien. Come along you three, the house-elves have quite a treat for us." Filius told his wards who nodded. And with that the two groups separated from each other, Matthew casting a suspicious look at the triplets before he glanced at the door that held such a dangerous creature in it.

A/N: This is the third chapter. So, there are only two chapters left of this story. I'm sorry. I was still getting into a writing rhythm with this one, but i'm going to try and get the last two uploaded before the end of February. The Chamber of Secrets book will hopefully have a better layout and longer story for it. Please leave a review and/or some constructive criticism. Thanks for reading.