September rolled to an end and most of October with it. Harry found himself in a surprisingly good mood. Despite struggling, he was getting a bit more control and, much to Flitwick's joy, managed to get basic levitation working. He was still restricted to things not much heavier than a feather. A handful of other basic spells were also at his disposal.

Hermione had calmed down, giving him breathing room while she tried to find everything she could on wordless casting. He had thought about telling her that, at Dumbledore's written direction, he had bought the few key ones, but she was so enthusiastic that he couldn't. It may also have something to with her forgetting about the date she had been planning.

McGonagall had barely left him alone, constantly reminding him of how he excelled much like his father. He enjoyed hearing what he could about his father, but when it was restricted to only transfiguration, it grew slightly tiresome after the first month.

Quirrel, on the other hand, could barely remember his name. Even after a dozen reminders, the teacher would still forget and ask Harry to read out loud from a book. Snape, on the other hand, had no trouble remembering, though he kept any spite towards his potion work, more than happy to dock points for sub-par solutions.

On the subject of hatred, Malfoy (as they now only referenced each other by surnames) had been practising his taunts, often dismayed at the lack of a response his enemy showed – even with his most creative ones.

So it was that, on a quiet Sunday morning, he found himself sitting in the hospital ward, a long cut down his arm after a meeting. It wasn't that it was life-threatening, just quite annoying, like an unusually large paper-cut; that and Hermione practically dragged him up there.

'Now then, Mr Potter, let me see this wound,' the stern witch instructed after leaving her office with Hermione in tow. Reluctantly, he rolled up his robe, at least happy about Flitwick having fixed it. She tutted, adding, 'It's nothing serious, but better to be safe.' Her wand twirled and, with a tap, she said, 'Episkey,' healing it.

After running his hand over the sealed skin, he scrawled a thank-you note then made a beeline for the Great Hall, hoping he hadn't missed breakfast.

The Gryffindor table was more than a little subdued, taking their time to glare across the hall rather than eat. Well, most did, but a couple chose that eating was more important. Half-way through a piece of toast, Harry was interrupted by two of his favourite housemates.

'Harry, my boy,' George began.

'News of a certain altercation has spread fast.'

'And we wish to, shall we say, right the wrong.'

He tried to remain calm, but the manic look in their eye had him on edge. 'It's okay, really.'

'Why whatever do you mean?'

'An assault on a Gryffindor is not okay!'

Harry sighed, thinking carefully on how to word it. 'He doesn't bother me. I've had much, much worse and I'll only worry when he learns more deadly spells.'

They thought it over. 'You know, Fred...'

'It's risky, but could be great.'

George grinned back at his brother before turning to face the Slytherin table. 'Oi, Malfoy, Potter wants a word.'

A few onlookers struggled to hide their confused face, especially when Malfoy did come over, where he found no one looking at him. Slightly puzzled, he asked, 'What did you want Potter? To beg me for forgiveness?'

He looked smug, but it changed back when Harry acted like he wasn't there.

'Gone deaf too?'

Silence.

'I'll take that as an apology then.' Scowl on face, he went to go, but only managed a step when someone tapped him on his shoulder. When he turned back, the scene hadn't changed: a table full of people oblivious to his presence.

They persisted with the act, but upon leaving the hall Hermione broke down. 'Merlin he looked mad,' she said, a tear in her eye from the laughter she had been holding in.

Harry still looked fairly serious, though the suppressed smile gave it away. They took a break leaning against the window, taking in the scene.

Now sober, Hermione stated, 'I saw what you said to the twins.' He thought he knew what was coming. 'I... I just want you to know I'm here if or when you want to tell me.'

'I do want to tell you, but I'm scared. It's something I want to forget and I'm happy now, I don't want to frighten you or make you treat me differently.'

She smiled with heavy eyes. 'That means a lot to me. I can't say for certain, but I doubt it'll scare me. Really, I've thought up hundreds of different things and I'm hoping it's not as bad as the worse ones.'

'Even if I told you I was part of the Rotfang conspiracy?'

Hermione snorted. 'The what?'

He shrugged. 'There was something in the Quibbler about it.'

'That piece of trash? Why were you reading it?'

'Need to know if my position as the Rotfang's inside man is compromised.'

Gently, she slapped his back. 'Get serious now, this was a mature and adult conversation.'

'But I'm not mature nor an adult!'

'Come on Harry, cheer up a bit – we are heading to a party after all!'

'You're the one who was kind enough to remind me that it's the anniversary of the death of my parents.'

She cooled. 'I didn't know, I've told you I'm sorry.'

'And I've told you that you didn't kill them, so there's nothing to be sorry about. I'm afraid you're just going to have to live with an angsty friend tonight.'

'So just like everyday then?' She smirked at the dismissal he gave her. 'I'll meet you down there then, but don't stand me up or you'll regret it.' Satisfied with his gulp, Hermione slipped through the portrait hole out of the Gryffindor common room.

He ruffled his hair, thinking as he stared out the window at the shady landscape. After a few minutes contemplation, he sighed and trekked to the Great Hall. Looking around, he couldn't spot Hermione anywhere.

Frown set, he started asking around, stopping when he got a lead, one he was not pleased with.

'Where did Hermione go after you made her cry?'

Ron struggled to control himself, after all he had only told her the truth – it wasn't his fault she couldn't take it. However, he was slightly concerned about the look Harry was giving him. 'Back up the stairs, the main ones.'

Harry wasn't sure, but thought she'd probably head to the nearest toilets, which were the ones on the third-floor if he remembered correctly. Without a goodbye, he turned and left Ron standing there.

Seconds after he had ascended the first staircase, a distraught Quirrel practically fell into the Great Hall, screaming about a troll in the castle. Panic ensued as the teachers attempted to round up their sheep and get them back to their dorms.

Meanwhile, Harry had made his way to the third-floor, only to find himself unsure of how to proceed. Thinking it over, he decided the best thing to do was to knock and only enter if he didn't get a reply.

Luckily for him, Hermione got up and opened the door into the toilets after the second round of knocking. 'Hey.'

She smiled, though the tear marks were still there with red, puffy eyes too. 'You didn't have to come find me.'

'Did too!'

'I'm sorry, after dragging you there I wind up missing it myself.'

He patted her arm. 'It's okay, not your fault. I'm blaming the Dork Lord.'

'Ron?' He nodded, much to her amusement. 'Why is he now known as the Dork Lord?'

'Not only is he a dork, his brothers have assured me he is to be a dark wizard and that's why I'll have to battle him. I wasn't sure at first, but it looks like they're seers.'

Hermione broke, laughing herself hoarse. 'Even if you can't cast a spell, I'm sure you'll beat him without a problem.'

'I'm thinking of using delicious snacks as a secret weapon to distract him – do you think it would work?'

'Oh without a doubt. Maybe you could poison it too, that way you wouldn't even give him a chance.'

Harry had a grin on his face. 'Remind me not to annoy you. I quite like living now.'

Her heart stopped when she read that last word and he realised slightly too late he slipped up. Fortunately, or unfortunately, she didn't have time to probe. Loud thuds sounded and, at the end of the hallway, a mountain troll emerged.

Acting on instinct, he pulled both of them into the bathroom, hoping they hadn't been spotted. She went to speak, but he held a finger firmly on his lips and she caught on. Their breathing lightened as they silently listened.

The heavy footsteps neared, Harry moving them over to the cubicles. They heard a powerful sniff. He backed them into one, gently closing and bolting the door. First splintering then shattering wood and stone sounded, followed by more steps and a deep, brutish breathing.

He deeply wished they were somewhere else, his entire being centred upon it and that's when he felt like he was, and saw Hermione actually was, flickering. It was an odd feeling, as though he wasn't really there, but still was.

A tree-trunk sized club smashed downwards, resting barely above Harry's cowering head. Hermione struggled to keep calm, trying to think of anything she knew that could help. Harry had other ideas though, their flickering becoming faster.

It raised back up, preparing for another strike, but it never made the swing. 'Dumbledore!' she whispered, listening to the elderly man's chants on the other side. They became solid, Harry releasing a long held breath.

'Good evening children, I hope all is well?' His eyes twinkled behind the half-moon spectacles, which bizarrely matched his deep blue robes and hat with glittering stars on them.

'Yes sir,' Hermione managed before beginning to hyperventilate as the reality of their situation set in.

The headmaster simply smiled back before turning back to the stunned troll that had crashed into the far wall, breaking a few sinks and mirrors. 'I am sorry I could not arrive earlier, but I was in the basement.'

Harry tapped him and he bent down to accept the note. 'How did you know we were here?'

'A fine question. As I'm sure Ms Granger can tell you, Hogwarts has wards in place to prevent apparition. When someone was trying very hard to get through them, I thought it was most likely connected to our friend here.'

'Apparition? But...' she trailed off, turning. 'Since when can you apparate, Harry?'

He shrugged. 'I was just focusing as hard as I could on not being here and it started happening. If I'd known it was pointless, I wouldn't have tried.'

'It is most lucky for us all that you did. I do hate having my students in mortal peril, you know.' He stepped back towards the troll, levitating it slightly off the ground and centring it. With careful movements, the rubble sprang to life, slotting back together as though nothing had happened. 'Now then, I believe Minerva is most worried and we should make haste to put her at ease.'

The next morning, Harry bit back the laughter that threatened him when Fang bowled over Hermione. Taking pity, he started scratching the hound behind his ear, easing him off the poor girl. She grumbled to herself, dusting away the dirt while Hagrid offered somewhat insincere apologies given his grin.

'Well, what can I do fer yer?' he merrily asked, teapot in hand.

Hermione politely took a cup. 'Oh nothing, it was just getting a bit stuffy in the castle and thought you'd like some visitors.'

'Always, always.' He arranged a half-dozen cupcake-like foods on a plate. 'Help yerselves to some rockcakes.'

She tried not to giggle when Harry passed over a note. 'More rock than cake.' Despite it, he leaned over and made a show of picking one up, carefully using a knife to carve bits off before crunching them. Hesitantly at first, she followed suit, surprised by just how tasty they were.

'They're really good, Hagrid,' she added, getting a booming response. Harry had shifted his attention to a newspaper on the table. 'Harry, is everything okay?'

He shook himself out of it. 'Just a bit strange that someone broke into Gringotts on the same day Hagrid and I were there.'

Frowning, she responded, 'Who could pull that off? I mean, they've even got dragons down there!'

Hagrid looked slightly uncomfortable, Harry shrugging. He went back to the article, stopping suddenly and writing a note for Hagrid. 'Wasn't 713 the vault you went into?'

He coughed. 'Yer, that was the vault. Looks like we go' there jus' in time.'

'What was in there? Must've been very important if someone broke into Gringotts for it.'

'Look, it's none of yer business, it's between Professer Dumbledore and Mr Flamel.'

Hermione went to speak again, but Harry steadied her. 'Could you tell us about the thestrals? They look so beautiful in their own way.'

Hagrid, much happier with this conversation, started. 'Well, of cerse yer can only see 'em if you've seen someone die, makes people think they're dark creatures...' He continued talking, but Hermione had unconsciously tuned him out, drifting into her own thoughts.

They waved, setting off back to the castle. When Hagrid closed his heavy door, Hermione immediately began her questioning. 'Why did you stop me?'

'He's my friend and I'm pretty sure he wasn't supposed to talk about it.' She blushed slightly. 'Besides, he gave us enough – I think I know what it was.'

'What?' she said, mouth gaping.

He smiled back at her. 'I'll give you all you need, just need to find a certain pair of twins or their accomplice.' She followed him up to the tower that was home to the Gryffindors and watched the short conversation between Harry and another boy.

'Pleasure doing business with you,' Lee Jordan said, handing over a few shiny, wrapped chocolate frogs. Harry took them, splitting the pile between himself and Hermione as well as offering one to Lee. 'Well, if you insist,' he said before tearing it open, quickly getting a hand on the squirming amphibian.

'Not that I don't appreciate the gift,' Hermione began, 'I'm just not sure what the frogs have to do with what we were talking about.' Harry ignored her though, finishing off his own before gently sliding the card out of the wrapper, disappointed.

Lee sympathised with him. 'Want to sell it to me? Which is it?' Harry tilted the card so he could see, nearly causing him to feint. 'You're disappointed with a founder?' he exclaimed. After a nod from Harry, he offered, 'How about another ten frogs for Godric then?'

Many minutes of chomping later, Hermione dropped the final wrapper in the bin. 'Now will you tell me why I ate more chocolate today than in the rest of my life?' Her answer was in the form of a card. 'A Dumbledore card?' He nodded, pointing to the details. She quietly read it to herself. 'Nicolas Flamel?'

'I got one on the train here, but there's more to it than that. Do you know why he's famous, other than his work with Dumbledore?' She shook her head, causing him to slip her another card.

'The Philosopher's Stone...' she whispered.

He nodded. 'Sounds like the sort of thing someone would risk breaking into Gringotts for, doesn't it? Also why Dumbledore would look after it, since they know each other.'

'Then, the corridor on the third-floor, the one that's off-limits, that must be where he's keeping it!'

'So, there's a priceless, one of a kind, immortality granting object at Hogwarts and a troll somehow managed to get in.'

The gears in her head turned. 'It was a distraction, so they could try and get the stone! But who?'

Harry shrugged. 'I have no idea, but it must be one of the teachers, don't you think?'

'Well, someone could have sneaked onto the grounds. I mean, the Forbidden Forest only stops anyone because it's full of dark creatures and the headmaster would know if someone opened the gates to Hogsmeade.'

'So you think they got in through the forest? Should we tell Dumbledore?'

She mulled it over. 'I think we should. I mean, he probably already worked it out himself, but it's better to be safe, right?'

He nodded. 'I'm not sure where his office is though.'

'How about we ask McGonagall to take us to see him?'

'Sounds good. She should know about the stone.'

Shortly thereafter, they found themselves escorted up to the peculiar room behind a gargoyle and a rotating set of stairs that were like a curved escalator. 'It's good to see you both again so soon,' the headmaster said, removing his glasses and putting them in his top pocket. 'What can I do for you?'

They looked between each other and nodded, Harry stepping forward and dropping his note. 'We believe you have the Philosopher's Stone. We believe the troll last night was a distraction so whoever broke into Gringotts could try to steal it again. I believe it is a teacher and Hermione believessomeone snuck in through the Forbidden Forest. We wanted you to know, even though we think you would have already thought of this, just to make sure.'

'A, shall we say, insightful message indeed.' The two were nervously looking at him, though Hermione looked to be thinking. 'Ms Granger, I am near-sighted before you ask.' She looked up, catching his twinkling eyes. 'I must say, I am impressed with the deductions you both have made, might I be correct in saying Hagrid gave you some help?'

Hermione shifted uncomfortably, watching as Harry started writing. 'No sir, I saw Nicolas Flamel's name when we picked up the package from Gringotts. On the Hogwarts Express, I got your chocolate frog card and Mr Flamel's among others. After the troll and finding out the vault it was in got broken into it, I put the pieces together.'

'How you stayed out of Ravenclaw, I am not sure. If I may, how did Ms Granger come into this?'

'We bought a lot of chocolate frogs earlier so I could show her the two cards. She got it from that after I told her the name on the package.'

The headmaster thought it over, before asking, 'Ms Granger, do you agree with Mr Potter's account?'

She let out a breath she hadn't realised she was holding. 'Yes sir.'

'Very well, let me put both your minds at ease then. I do know how the troll came to be in the castle and it was purely an accident through how it escaped. Professor Quirrel procured it to use for his seventh years, but it has since been deemed too risky. As for the Forbidden Forest, I have an agreement with the centaurs and so if anyone was to attempt to breach the school, I would shortly know. Was there anything else?'

'How did the troll escape?'

'It was to be kept under control using a mild sedation potion, however it seems we underestimated how much we needed, allowing it to gather enough strength to break through the restraints placed upon it.'

Harry was about to write something, but changed his mind. 'Thank you for your time sir.'

Dumbledore smiled. 'It is no problem, my door is always open. Well, that's not strictly true as you need a password, but I am always in the Great Hall come breakfast, lunch and dinner. Before you do leave, may I request you keep all this information to yourself?'

They nodded and he gave them a parting smile. Hastily, they left his office, enjoying the trip down the moving stairs.

'Do you see what I see?' Hermione quietly asked at dinner that evening.

Harry nodded, watching the potions master limp over to his place at the staff table while glaring at Quirrel. 'He would've been in charge of making the troll's potion too.'

'I wonder if the troll did that to him?'

'Or maybe whatever is protecting the stone?'

She gulped. 'We're gonna have to go see what's there, aren't we?'

He nodded.

Nightfall descended and the worn occupants had long since retired to rest, save one. As light as the footsteps were, Harry woke, keeping still with just his eyes open. Through the curtain, he could just make out a tall silhouette. One arm grew, until it emerged - elderly and draped in a familiar robe - through a gap, gently placing a package before disappearing.

He waited until the heavy silence settled before quietly sitting up, inspecting the parcel. Glad he could perform at least a little magic on demand, his wand's tip glowed, lighting his bed. He undid the plain, brown paper, revealing an elegant, folded silver cloak with a note.

"Dear Harry,

This cloak belonged to your father, who graciously allowed me to research it before that fateful night and I have held onto it for you ever since. I hope you can make much use of it as I have found it indispensable in my travels and will sorely miss it now I must rely on lesser means."

Mind racing, he lay the cloak across his bed. His hand gently stroked the velvet-like fabric, thinking about how his father had used it, his first physical connection to his parents. It was as he began to lift it that he noticed something odd: he could see through his hand and the cloak where the two met.

Risking it, he weakly slipped out of bed and pulled it over his shoulders, amazed as his body vanished from sight. Walking to the mirror, he found himself peering at a floating head. Even though it didn't cover his face, it quickly disappeared when he raised the hood. Moving slightly, there was no sign of him in the mirror at all.

Grinning, he thought about the fun he was going to have and how it would be easy to see what's guarding the stone. Resolving to thoroughly test it over the weekend, he carefully folded it, placing it in his trunk under other clothes.

Harry filled Hermione in on the strange event in the morning. 'I'll show you after breakfast.' She nodded, turning back to her plate while he did the same. Shortly thereafter, the great owl rush began, hundreds furiously flapping to individual children. Harry was surprised when he found a note dropped off by one of school's owls.

'Secret Quidditch practice for you tonight. McGonagall has approved, but try to avoid Filch so we can get as much flying time as we can. Wood.'

Hermione, after reading it, commented, 'Looks like your present was just on time.' Harry smiled, agreeing. Once finished, they headed back up to the common room, which was nearly empty as most were still eating.

He went up the stairs to the dorms for the boys, Hermione taking a seat by the fireplace where she could look out the window. Luckily for him, none of the other first years were around, so he wore his cloak and descended.

Even though she knew what was coming, it still took some effort to not scream in fright as a finger poked her nose. Quietly, she vented, 'You could've just tapped me on the shoulder!'

If she could, she would have seem him shrug before dropping a note on her lap, it springing into colour a bit after leaving his hand. 'If I'm honest, I thought it would be funny to see your reaction. I was right.'

Vowing to get her own back, she stood up and went to the staircase for girls, smirking. He followed her, wondering why she was leading him there. She stopped inside her room, which was also empty of others.

Once again he reached out, tapping her on the nose, only this time she did scream. She stopped herself quickly enough, though she still looked slightly uneasy. 'Harry, that is you, isn't it?'

Confused, as he didn't know why she was asking, he lifted the hood up.

'How-how did you get up here?' He still looked just as puzzled. 'The stairs – they're charmed not to allow boys. When you stepped on them, they should have turned into a slide!'

After a few moments, he jotted his thoughts down. 'Either the charms aren't there any more or the cloak means it didn't notice me.'

'I don't think invisibility cloaks can bypass stuff like that.' Her head tilted. 'Maybe I'll go see if I can find some books on it in the library.'

Harry chuckled, thinking about how she always did that when she didn't know the answer. 'I'll finish off some homework and help you look afterwards. We'll go check up on the stone once we know about my cloak.'

'Sounds good. In the mean time, you will not use your cloak to sneak up here. You will definitely not use it to spy on us and if I even think you have used it to view things you shouldn't, then I will contract the twins to make sure you have a very painful next few years. Do I make myself clear?'

Her voice was cold enough that Harry had started shivering. He gulped before nodding.

'Good, now I'm off. You better not be here when I get back.' With that, she stood up and made her way out of the room. Harry took a minute to calm down before he too left, returning back to his own room and depositing the cloak. Parchment and quill in hand, he sat down beside his pile of books and started.

'Good of you to join us Potter,' the tall, lean boy that was known as Wood said. Harry smiled back, inspecting the rest of the team. The only two he knew were the twins, though the three girls looked familiar, having seen them at meals and around the common room. Each of them had their wands glowing, giving some light despite the lack of a sun.

'As seeker, you're not gonna be doing much, but if we are to win, you'll probably have to get the snitch.' Wood crouched down, fumbling around in a box. 'Bludgers will still be something for you to avoid. As good as the Weasleys are, they won't stop every one aimed at you.'

He pulled out a large, iron ball, struggling slightly even with both arms. The others present were amused by how wide Harry's eyes were.

'Don't worry, they're enchanted with cushioning charms. They still pack a punch, more than enough to break bones if they get a direct hit, but it shouldn't be fatal. Anyway, as long as you don't stop, you should have no problem avoiding them.'

'That's his polite way of saying you're a midget,' Fred helpfully added.

Still lacking his sense of humour, Harry chose to ignore the comment. Wood also did, dropping the bludger back into the trunk and taking out a much smaller ball, one that easily fitted into his hand.

'The snitch is what you're after. It's tiny, fast and has a habit of going invisible. Catching it nets us a hundred and fifty points, fifteen times as much as scoring with the quaffle, so when two teams are evenly matched, it's usually the snitch that makes the difference.'

Harry walked over, closely inspecting the delicate wings that sprouted out either side of Wood's fist. He unravelled his fingers, revealing the golden ball.

'Based on stats from Lee Jordan, he's the Quidditch commentator since last year, the average match was two hours and thirty-nine minutes long. In only one of the eight matches it wouldn't have mattered who caught the snitch. In the cup match, there was only a twenty-points difference when the snitch was caught, earning Slytherin the cup.' He looked quite upset remembering it.

George, getting bored, said, 'Blah blah, snitch is important, blah blah, now let's fly.'

'Seconded!' agreed his brother.

Wood looked rather annoyed, but the trio of girls fought their giggles. 'Fine, this is basic beater training with Potter as the sole target. The rest of us will watch and intervene with tips and suggestions when we think we need to.'

Harry cowered at the sight of the twins picking up their bats, menacingly twirling them. 'Don't worry Harry, we'll try not to break anything,' George said with a wink.

'I tried to talk McGonagall into getting you a new broom, but she started talking about budgets. So, we've got you on a school broom. It's not the best, but it'll have to do until we can get some funding.'

He nodded, picking up the broomstick and mounting it. After a countdown, Wood opened up another trunk, the animated and glowing bludgers leaping into the air with the twins right behind them. Harry kicked off, joining them in the air.

'When are you going to tell him the truth?'

Wood sighed. 'Angelina, I want to embarrass Slytherin. Imagine how pissed old Flint will be when his seeker gets beaten by a first year on a school broom.'

'You better not risk our victory on some half-brained revenge scheme,' she hotly replied.

'Look at him, he's a natural.' They followed Harry as he spun, narrowly dodging a broken nose. 'Some people were born to fly. Since Charlie left us high and dry last Christmas, I wasn't sure how we would replace him. There's no one else with even half the talent that's up there.'

'Reckon he'll be in shape for our match next weekend?' another girl asked.

He started counting on his fingers. 'We'll get him down again tomorrow night for snitch training – should be easy enough when it glows in the dark. Wednesday and Thursday morning we can get him some daytime practice in. The rest of us will spend some time everyday to put Slytherin off.'

'Just promise us you won't kill him if we lose.'

'I know, it's on my own head. You better not let me down though, girls.'

Author Notes

The plot begins! A decent memory and a bit of luck puts Harry on the right track quickly, though is Dumbledore as honest as he seems? Is Ron going to continue on the path of the Dork Lord? What other non-cannon bonuses does Harry's cloak have over normal ones? Why are the twins still stockpiling potion ingredients?

Speaking of the Dork Lord, I think I may have read that title in another fic, though unsure which. I doubt it was in regards to Ron, but I feel like I should credit it at the least. On another unstory note, while Nicolas Flamel doesn't have a card in canon, he really should.

Next chapter brings Quidditch, Fluffy and more. At the moment, I think the school year will take up a dozen or slightly more chapters with a few on some interesting developments over the summer. A slight edit has been made to first chapter – check AN for details. Until next time, beware the coming dorkness.

Tweak: As with the first, scene breaks and time scales, nothing serious nor Sirius.